The Power and Pleasure of Curriculum Mapping In this post we will share some of our experience and practical ideas about what is called Curriculum Mapping. Curriculum Mapping is the collaborative process of documenting, discussing and improving curricula through creating visual “maps” of the essential understanding, skills, experiences and assessment that shape courses and projects. This practice was pioneered by Grant Wiggins who wrote Understanding by Design, and Heidi Hayes Jacobs who wrote Getting Results with Curriculum Mapping. This process is invaluable as it clarifies for everyone, including students, teachers, and parents, the essential “big ideas” that curricula is built ... read more...

Announcing: Engaging Our Grounds Conference: September 16–18, 2011, Berkeley & San Francisco, California We want to recommend an inspiring, upcoming conference, a delightful colleague and the great book that she has written.  Sharon Gamson Danks is the author of the widely acclaimed book, Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Trans­for­mation (New Village Press, 2010).  Sharon is an environmental planner and founding partner of Bay Tree Design in Berkeley, CA.  As a researcher, writer and hands-on designer and planner, she has visited and documented over 200 green schoolyard and park projects in North America, Europe, Great Britain, and Japan and ... read more...